Hi Gang-
I hope this is the right forum for my question, if not, you can simply vote me off the island.
My 15 year old son has been diving with us for about three years and keeps wanting to take pictures UW. At first I wouldn't let him dive with a camera in hand because I needed him to focus on what was going on around him. Now, he's gotten better at staying with his buddy and refraining from darting after everything "cool" that he sees.
Recently, we got one of those useless $25 throw away cameras in Cozumel that was supposed to take pictures down to about 90 feet. We never got further than 80 feet and not a single picture processed.
He's got a birthday coming up, and we thought we'd buy him a "starter" camera for the next trip. I nearly lost my mind when I saw how much money divers spend on gear, (myself included), but I was never prepared for what photographic equipment costs.
Is there a decent basic camera I can buy so that for the next couple of years he can capture a halfway decent pictures UW when there is good sunlight and good vis?
I was hoping to find something for a few hundre bucks. After all, he's a teenager, and more than memories, I think he'd like to show his friends the nurse sharks, lobster, morays, etc. Bragging rights, and all that.........
If he really wants to get into photography, he'll have to wait a few years until he has a job and then save for the good stuff. Until then, I'd like to give him an affordable option. Not looking to win any photo contests here, or shoot pictures at night, just the basics.
Digital, film, I don't care. Just would like to keep it less than a mortgage payment if I can. If not, he'll have to just draw pictures of what he saw during the surface intervals.........
Thanks for any ideas you may have.
Susanumpkin:
I hope this is the right forum for my question, if not, you can simply vote me off the island.
My 15 year old son has been diving with us for about three years and keeps wanting to take pictures UW. At first I wouldn't let him dive with a camera in hand because I needed him to focus on what was going on around him. Now, he's gotten better at staying with his buddy and refraining from darting after everything "cool" that he sees.
Recently, we got one of those useless $25 throw away cameras in Cozumel that was supposed to take pictures down to about 90 feet. We never got further than 80 feet and not a single picture processed.
He's got a birthday coming up, and we thought we'd buy him a "starter" camera for the next trip. I nearly lost my mind when I saw how much money divers spend on gear, (myself included), but I was never prepared for what photographic equipment costs.
Is there a decent basic camera I can buy so that for the next couple of years he can capture a halfway decent pictures UW when there is good sunlight and good vis?
I was hoping to find something for a few hundre bucks. After all, he's a teenager, and more than memories, I think he'd like to show his friends the nurse sharks, lobster, morays, etc. Bragging rights, and all that.........
If he really wants to get into photography, he'll have to wait a few years until he has a job and then save for the good stuff. Until then, I'd like to give him an affordable option. Not looking to win any photo contests here, or shoot pictures at night, just the basics.
Digital, film, I don't care. Just would like to keep it less than a mortgage payment if I can. If not, he'll have to just draw pictures of what he saw during the surface intervals.........
Thanks for any ideas you may have.
Susanumpkin: